Poets Laureate of New York explained

The State Poet of New York is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of New York. The position of New York State Poet was established by a special mandate of the New York State Legislature on August 1, 1985.^[1] In 1988, New York also established a position for other genres of writing entitled New York State Author.^[2] In 2016, Governor Cuomo also named Joseph Tusiani Poet Laureate Emeritus.^[3]

List of Poets Laureate

• Stanley Kunitz (1987–1989)
• Robert Creeley (1989–1991)
• Audre Lorde (1991–1993)
• Richard Howard (1993–1995)
• Jane Cooper (1995–1997)
• Sharon Olds (1998–2000)
• John Ashbery (2001–2003)
• Billy Collins (2004–2006)
• Jean Valentine (2008–2010)
• Marie Howe (2012–2014)
• Yusef Komunyakaa (2015–2017)
• Alicia Ostriker (2018–2021)
• Willie Perdomo (2020–present)

List of State Authors

• Grace Paley (1986–1988)^[4]
• E. L. Doctorow (1989–1991)
• Norman Mailer (1991–1993)
• William Gaddis (1993–1995)
• Peter Matthiessen (1995–1997)
• James Salter (1998–2000)
• Kurt Vonnegut (2001–2003)
• Russell Banks (2004–2008)
• Mary Gordon (2008–2010)
• Alison Lurie (2012–2014)
• Edmund White (2014–2016)
• Colson Whitehead (2018–2021)
• Ayad Akhtar (2021–2023)

Notes and References

1. Web site: U.S. State Poets Laureate: A Resource Guide New York . The Library of Congress . 30 July 2022.
2. Web site: State Author and State Poet honorees . New York State Writers Institute . 4 August 2022.
3. Web site: Governor Cuomo Announces New York's Biennial State Author & Poet . January 8, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170402043021/http://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-yorks-biennial-state-author-poet . 2017-04-02 . New York State . 4 August 2022.
4. Web site: New York State Author and New York State Poet Awards . University of Albany . 4 August 2022.